Ethanol the constant battle...

[montec]

I'm not saying ethanol is a good thing, I'm just trying to say it's not the antichrist like some guys make it out to be. Also I refuse to jump on the fuel/oil additives bandwagon. I believe all of it- STP, Stabil, Techron, Gumout, Lucas Oil, etc is all a marketing sham that exploits things like ethanol and ZDDP to make owners feel that these products are necessary to properly take care of their engines. It's all placebo-effect-based stuff that is supposed to make car owners feel good for buying an unnecessary product to make them feel like they are taking care of something. I get especially suspicious when people tout these kind of products like they are the Messiah (Cough, Cough... Carroll Shelby, Z-Max). I put Top Tier rated gas in the gas tank and API-SN oil in the engine and forget the magic engine potions.

I don't use much for additives. I do believe the Lucas fuel tratment does work, helped with the injector recall on gm's s series in the early 2000's, kept them trucks running till they could get in for warranty.

Read the labels on them additives most are some chemical that should not be run in a motor.

The additive I dislike most is seafoam, I've seen more damage done with that then any good.

 

[joesregalproject]

The only thing Seafoam seems to do is make a fun smoke show, I don't think it does anything else. Most of these additives are BS. ZMax is just regular mineral oil with some pretty dye in a fancy package. The FTC sued them over some of their claims. The FTC also sued Quick 50 over some of their claims as well. Most fuel additives are just mineral oil in a nice bottle. STP oil treatment is a viscosity modifier and does contain ZDDP like it claims, but in a lower concentration than the oil already in the car, so in essence, if you use it, you are diluting the ZDDP in your oil. Marvel Mystery Oil might be of some worth, I've never used it, but a lot of the guys on the BITOG forum swear by it. I don't buy additives. No one can seem to prove that they do anything, and a lot of them are pricey. I use Top Tier rated gas, which is an actual, legitimate certification, and API-SN approved oil, which is the only oil spec that actually means anything.

 

[pontiacgp]

I used a gas additive and did not check the label. It was for fuel injection and it ate the filter and a few other rubber pieces in the carb. The carb and injector cleaners were in the same color and shape container...

as far as seafoam I like that product and it has smoothed out a noisy lifter...

 

[87BlazeLS]

Wow, maybe that additive for the engine oil with ZDDP is not needed either.

I was told the leaded substitute was needed to keep from wiping away the
cam lobes on a flat tappet cam during breakin....
Could be thats a hoax too huh....

 

[jiho]

I cannot speak to earlier G-bodies, but with my '83 the factory Owner's Manual says it's made for E10. With the "feedback" Rochesters you just back out the idle mixture screws a little to bias the range. The energy content of E10 is 94% that of pure gasoline, so if you got 25 mpg with pure gasoline you'd expect 24 mpg with E10. Spectra claims their tanks are good up to E20.

EDIT: Oops, make that 96% energy content.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

It comes down to limiting how much water gets into the fuel.

This page contains a fairly in depth explanation behind the chemistry that can cause corrosion:

http://chemistry.stackexchange.com/...-e10-fuel-becomes-harmful-to-gas-tanks-or-eng

Yep, old fashioned open venting allows moisture into the gas tank. Closed venting through a evap system keeps moisture out and slows down phase separation. We are lucky that Gbodies came with evap.

 

[drogg1]

Yep, old fashioned open venting allows moisture into the gas tank. Closed venting through a evap system keeps moisture out and slows down phase separation. We are lucky that Gbodies came with evap.

I was beginning to think nobody read that or your post for that matter. Might as well spitball and spout anecdotes rather than consider what an actual scientist has to say...

 

[vanrah]

Greetings Guys; Every time I get a request for money from a politician, I sent them this little write up.

"Ethanol, What a Mistake! Food prices, especially beef now out of reach for many. My automobile gas tank damaged, lawn mower engine toast, snow blower engine using oil now. I don't consider snow removal, grass mowing or going to the grocery store as recreational! But I have to purchase recreational (Premium) fuel now at much higher cost to keep my machines running or face more DAMAGE.
Saddest of all here in Rock Country Wisconsin the farmers have CUT or Bulldozed every tree in site, “Makes me SiCK”! All in the quest to grow more corn. The farmers all too young to remember or Too short sited to recall the DUST bowl days. As we keep entering more & more summers of DRY forecasts?
The wife & I rode bikes out on the country roads years (70's & 80's) ago, the roads were lined with trees. Much of the ride was in the shade, close to heaven. The young bicyclist today have Little or NO shade on those same roads.
Lastly for any green'es, sure the ethanol burns cleaner, but any clean air we gained we LOST More with the trees Gone, the diesel fuel & natural gas used to produce the Ethanol. They made oxygen, kept us moist & blocked wind erosion, their Great Grand dad's planted some of those very trees."
Modify it to your taste & sent it to the politicians in place of money. Bob Jr.

 

[drogg1]

Greetings Guys; Every time I get a request for money from a politician, I sent them this little write up.

"Ethanol, What a Mistake! Food prices, especially beef now out of reach for many. My automobile gas tank damaged, lawn mower engine toast, snow blower engine using oil now. I don't consider snow removal, grass mowing or going to the grocery store as recreational! But I have to purchase recreational (Premium) fuel now at much higher cost to keep my machines running or face more DAMAGE.
Saddest of all here in Rock Country Wisconsin the farmers have CUT or Bulldozed every tree in site, “Makes me SiCK”! All in the quest to grow more corn. The farmers all too young to remember or Too short sited to recall the DUST bowl days. As we keep entering more & more summers of DRY forecasts?
The wife & I rode bikes out on the country roads years (70's & 80's) ago, the roads were lined with trees. Much of the ride was in the shade, close to heaven. The young bicyclist today have Little or NO shade on those same roads.
Lastly for any green'es, sure the ethanol burns cleaner, but any clean air we gained we LOST More with the trees Gone, the diesel fuel & natural gas used to produce the Ethanol. They made oxygen, kept us moist & blocked wind erosion, their Great Grand dad's planted some of those very trees."
Modify it to your taste & sent it to the politicians in place of money. Bob Jr.

While I don't agree that ethanol is inherently a bad fuel when properly used, I wholeheartedly agree that we grow too much damn corn. One of my other hobbies is sustainable organic agriculture which is essentially the antithesis of industrial corn and soy production. Living in Nebraska, I am quite literally surrounded by corn and soy where there used to be beautiful NATURAL prairie. Conventional farmers will have you believe we need to produce on this scale to support our ever-expanding population. But when you look passed the surface, most corn production is used to produce things like ethanol, livestock feed that causes cattle to produce more methane than a natural diet, and other things that are not directly food. I could go on and on.

 

[87BlazeLS]

Due to the content of fuel in the gas tank and the very small amount in the float bowl, lines, fuel filter, fuel pump (non EFI)
Longer storage times without stabilizer can and will effect these areas first. I know from trial and error what product to reach for
when it comes to storage of equipment and vehicles. To each his own....